2007 Beanworld Orphan Drawing Up for Adoption @ CBLDF Auction!

A Happy Professor Garbanzo.

3" x 4 1/2 " drawing.
Black and colored marker on paper
in 5" x 7" hand decorated colored mat.

I got a note from Jill @ CBLDF letting me know that the above Beanworld Orphan piece is up for adoption in an online CBLDF auction.

As I'm sure you know the funds raised in these auctions help support the First Amendment legal work the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund performs on behalf of the comics community. I suspect you also know that I'm on the Board of Directors of the CBLDF.

For the last twenty years the Fund defended the First Amendment rights of the comics art form. In that time, the specifics of the battles and skirmishes have changed, but the overall struggle remains the same – there are still zealous prosecutors who think that the people associated with comic books are easy targets to smear with a prosecutorial brush. It's the mission of the CBLDF to stand up and defend comics when unjustly accused of wrong doing.

The contributions of CBLDF members and contributors led to victory in the case of Georgia v. Gordon Lee, where a comic book retailer struggled for three years against prosecutors who tried to strip him of his freedom over charges that were eventually dropped.

I always say this but it is true, yes, I know times are tough, and personal funds are more than a bit tight, but the good work that CBLDF does is just as important as it ever has been--if not more.

And you can not only help by contributing to the Fund but you can give this orphaned drawing of Professor Garbanzo a good home.

Beanworld in Science!

Beanworld has the best fans!

Not so long ago, I received a an email that included the following:

My name is Leigh Boerner, and I'm a freelance science writer and longtime Beanworld fan. I'm VERY excited about the re-releasing of the Beanworld series, and about the new material you're coming out with. I think it's a great series (obviously), and I find it really sad that a lot of people I know, even people who are into comics, have no idea what Beanworld is.

Leigh asked me if she and I could have a chat about Beanworld in advance of her pitch and I agreed. She and her husband, Nels, clearly have given Beanworld a lot of thought over time and the conversation Leigh and I had was lengthy and different than many of my previous interviews.

Science's book editor, Sherman Suter commissioned a review and Between Leigh, Sherman, Jacq Cohen at Dark Horse, everyone had copies of Beanworld stuff and the article came together very, very fast.

It's a terrific article directed a highly select scientific readership. I think Leigh did a tremendous job hitting all of the essential Beanworld notes.

I just got a note from her that everyone can now s
neak under the edge of the Science tent through her website.

So, if you are curious, use this link.

It will take you to Leigh's blog and from there if you hit the link titled "A Story of Symbiosis" you will get to read the review without having to pay at the door.

I don't believe that I ever really did much better in any science course in high school than a C- (and often did worse). In art school we were required to take art OR philosophy and I bet you can guess what courses I took.

What I learned in school, and it was later constantly re-enforced by studying Duchamp, is that an artist can take whatever he likes from of the disciplines of science, pick and chose the bits and pieces, and stir it into the recipe of the art piece he or she is baking.

So, not too shabby for me, of all people, to end up getting a good review in Science.

It Came From The Beanworld Archives!

Pencil page layout
8 1/2" x 11" on bond paper
Circa 1983

A layout for a page that became page 30 of TOTB #1, page 36 of the Volume #1 of the old Beanworld TPBs and currently is page 36 of the Beanworld hardcover Wahoolazuma.

In those days, I used to pencil pages in the finished size and then blow them up on a photocopier. I then inked on single-ply Strathmore on a homemade light box my Dad made for me. (Long lost in the fog of many moves.)

I didn't start inking on double-ply board until about halfway through the run of TOTB.

Because I was always laboring for myself, I never had to work according to any industry standard rules or regulations. To the best of my recollection, I've never pencilled a page directly onto the paper and then inked over my pencil lines.

Sometimes I still come across pages that were discarded for some reason and the photocopy is still taped to the back of the board.

I still have two store-bought light boxes and I rarely have any reason whatsoever to use either!

Professor Garbanzo from Beanworld Avatar in Second Life

Honestly...the title says it all.
The credits at the end explain who did what.
ZenMondo is the mighty fine fella who initiated the Beanworld Wiki.
The whole thing just makes me smile.

Four Realities of Larry Marder's Beanworld!

Book One: Wahoolazuma!

On sale now!

Book Two: A Gift Comes!

Printed and "on the water" as we used to say in the toy bizniz.

On sale in July!

Book Three: "Remember Here When You Are There!"

In the editing and production stages with Diana Schutz at Dark Horse Comics
Show above in its in-studio production binder.

On sale in November 2009.

Books One, Two, and Three combined as a trilogy
make up the Beanworld Springtime story cycle.

Book Four: (Title to be announced later)

The green folder above is filled with a lot of stuff for Book Four.
What kind of stuff?
Twenty, thirty year old story fragments and idea shards,
pages that are in layout stage or totally finished
that just didn't feel right in the Springtime cycle
and were deemed to be premature for "Here There."

It's Summer stuff!

I'm working on it already!

Hey, Guess What?

Good news for Beanworld fans!

I completed "Remember Here When You Are There!" last night.

It clocked in at 212 pages of story which is a lot more than was expected (or solicited).
Beanworld has a way of taking over and who am I to argue with Beanworld?

The panel above is from page 181.